The World’s Most Powerful Women: July 13

By lauracohn

I recently wrote about some research that shows a female CEO tends to have twice the number of women on her executive committee than the average male chief exec. Given all the women vying for the world stage, I’ve been wondering whether the trend extends to female world leaders and their cabinets.

With Theresa May set to take over Downing Street tonight as Britain’s second female prime minister after Margaret Thatcher, the focus has shifted to who she will appoint to top jobs. The Financial Times reports that May, who co-founded the Women2Win group to elect more conservative women to parliament, will put females in top positions. Energy secretary Amber Rudd is a possibility for chancellor, the FT says. Justine Greening, international development secretary, could also get a key position. It’s unclear how many women will join May’s government.

But we do know this: Hillary Clinton has explicitly said that if she becomes president, her cabinet will be half female. If she wins and follows through, Vox says it would be unprecedented, citing the Center for American Women and Politics, which tracks the issue.

Michelle Bachelet appointed a gender-equal cabinet when she became Chile’s first female president in 2006. And a male head of state even got in on the action last year when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada famously appointed an even split of men and women to his cabinet.

Turns out there are studies that show female advances at the highest levels of politics tend to inspire other women to run. So here’s hoping the women—or men—who make it to top political positions appoint more females as their closest advisors. Then female CEOs won’t be the only ones paving the way for young women.

Laura Cohn

@laurascohn

EUROPE/MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA

Brexit hits SantanderBrexit hasn't been kind to Ana Botin. The executive chairwoman of Banco Santander, No. 1 on Fortune's Most Powerful Women, EMEA list, has seen her stock price fall by roughly 16% since Britain voted to leave the EU, thrusting the bank's U.K. unit into uncertain times.
Wall Street Journal

A friend at City Hall

London's new mayor, Sadiq Khan, seems to be a real supporter of women. Three of his deputy mayors are women, he's expressed support for a campaign to get a suffragette statue in Parliament Square, and now, he's produced a report on the gender pay gap at City Hall—and pledged to do something about it. Bravo.

New York Times

THE AMERICAS

A shrinking lead

In politics, when it rains, it pours. A new NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll shows Hillary Clinton's lead over Donald Trump has shrunk to just 3 points. Meanwhile, on the day Clinton received the endorsement of Bernie Sanders, a separate poll by GenForward revealed that Clinton is still having a hard time getting young Americans to support her.

Fortune

Diversity starts at the top

To get more diversity in tech, you need support from those who are overrepresented. In tech, it's the white male. That's the conclusion of discussions among execs of startups and Fortune 500 firms attending the annual Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen this week.

Fortune

Saying no in London

The Times reports several American investment banks have not signed up to the campaign in London to get more women into top positions in finance. As I mentioned in yesterday's WMPW, Morgan Stanley has agreed to the plan—which requires firms to tie the bonuses of their heads to the naming of women to top positions—but The Times says Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citi and Bank of America Merrill Lynch have not.

The Times

That powerful photo

The woman protesting the shootings last week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who was depicted in a powerful Reuters photo that went viral, has been identified as Ieshia Evans. She is a nurse and mother from New York. Check it out.

New York Times

ASIA-PACIFIC

Indian women just do it

India's female athletes rock this new powerful Nike ad, which shows them running, jumping and playing cricket while "Da Da Ding" from M.I.A. collaborator Gener8ion plays in the background. Watch it. I found it inspiring.

Time

Pushing for change in Japan

When it comes to female representation in politics, Japan has the lowest rank of any industrialized nation. Japanese law professor Mari Miura, a member of the "Angry Women's Club," is trying to change that by pushing for gender quotas with strong enforcement mechanisms. She has an uphill battle.

OZY

She aced it

Golf officials in Hong Kong say it was the greatest day in their history. Amateur golfer Tiffany Chan Tsz-ching, qualified to represent Hong Kong at the Rio Olympics this week. Chan, who was born in Hong Kong and attends the University of Southern California, started playing the sport at age six.

South China Morning Post